"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
I got a number on me, I got a number
Won't make it through the high noon sun
I am my father's son
And I am my father's son
His bed is made
I was a hero early in the morning
I ain't no hero in the night
I am my father's son
And I'll build a house inside of you
I'll go in through the mouth
I'll draw three figures on your heart
One of them will be me as a boy
And one of them will be me
And one of them will be me watching you run
Watching you run into the high noon sun
Watching you run farther than guns will go
You are a runner with a stolen voice
And you are a runner
And I am my father's son
I am my father's son
I am my father's son
Won't make it through the high noon sun
I am my father's son
And I am my father's son
His bed is made
I was a hero early in the morning
I ain't no hero in the night
I am my father's son
And I'll build a house inside of you
I'll go in through the mouth
I'll draw three figures on your heart
One of them will be me as a boy
And one of them will be me
And one of them will be me watching you run
Watching you run into the high noon sun
Watching you run farther than guns will go
You are a runner with a stolen voice
And you are a runner
And I am my father's son
I am my father's son
I am my father's son
Lyrics submitted by Relapser, edited by intertropicalconvergencezone
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I think this song is about the singer having his fate already in place because of his father. Maybe figuring he is going to follow his father's footsteps down whatever path that may be. Something probably dark.
While the runner is a person who is going to go far in life. Maybe a friend or someone he loves. Regardless, he figures this person will be going places in life and that he will merely be watching them while he stays behind.
Just my theory. Awesome song, just as it is an awesome album.
I think this song is about waking up and realizing you had a one night stand and got someone pregnant. the lyrics remind me of lounge by modest mouse "he had a number written on his forearm, it spelled disaster"
This song seems really self-explanatory. The person in it is seeing other people trying to break away from their parents while he just takes what he has and stays with his father. He's not trying to change anything, and it's for the better. He sees that when other people are running away, they aren't really going anywhere and he learns from their mistakes..
Actually, I change my mind. It's probably him looking back on his past trying to break away. He sees himself being wrong then, but he sees himself still wrong now.
???
I think this is pretty much talking about a father running out on his family (his son). It's quite cut and dry to me. Anybody else?
I agree. I think it's just about a father leaving the family. Possibly later on in his life. He says he was a hero early in the morning, meaning maybe his father was proud of him or they were closer when he was a child, but he isn't a hero in the night, meaning later in life he and his father drifted apart somehow. Pretty kicking rad song.
The question for me is: who is he addressing in the song? When he says "I'll buiid a house inside of you" - is this the father? If it is the father, then yes, I'd agree with dbtheathen abou the father leaving the family - it would be obvious there.
The "you" he builds a house in is also obviously the "runner" in the title. Intially I thought there might be a third party here - someone else he is talking to, but now that I think it over it appears to be a dialogue just between he and his father.
awesome killing juliet, thanks for your input. I changed my mind anyway after listening to this song a lot more. I agree with dbtheathen
awesome killing juliet, thanks for your input. I changed my mind anyway after listening to this song a lot more. I agree with dbtheathen
I thought it was about the Athens Olympic marathon. Man, was I way out!